Take a Peak in your Chicken Coop

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Good chicken coop maintenance is the key to having happy, healthy chooks.

Red mites are a very common poultry nuisance appearing each season usually in the warmer summer months. They eventually come to all poultry lovers and test our tenacity and chook keeping sanity. These nasty little critters might be lingering in the wood work of your hen house all winter if you do not take action now. Autumn/winter is the best time to deal to them plus it is the perfect time to disinfect and sanitise all surfaces in your coop killing any unwanted micro-organisms, bacteria and viruses. Your annual 'Spring Clean' will ensure you start the new season mite free with a clean house and all chickens in good health.

We have had great feedback this season on the Poultry Safeguard. It does a great job dealing to mites and best of all is NZ made and economical to use. For best results please follow the instructions carefully as the breeding cycle of the mite is key to getting on top of them. Repeat spray every 5 to 7 days till numbers are barely there. Follow up with Appletons De-Mite Powderfor residual control.

This time of year, we regularly get asked about feather loss and drop in egg production – often linked.

Feather LossWhen a chicken is about a year old she will start to lose her feathers but don't panic, this is meant to happen. She is moulting. This is a completely harmless process of plumage rejuvenation. Just as your chickens have individual personalities, they will go through moult differently as well. Some lose a few feathers and grow them back in as quickly as 3-4 weeks. Other chickens lose a lot of feathers and take 12-16 weeks to grow them back. The new feathers are noticeably fresh and new. Please note moulting is an annual event usually taking place each year between January and May. Make sure the birds are well fed during this period as it takes a lot of energy (and much needed animal proteins) to grow new feathers. Because of all the energy taken up with moulting, your chickens will stop laying until their new feathers have grown. It is also during this time that the pecking order can change within your flock as moulting can be very stressful on a bird. It is also important to remember not to clip your chickens wings when they are moulting.

So best practice to feed your laying hens a premium complete layer feed with high levels of naturally occuring animal proteins like Westons Peak Layer Pelletsall year round.

Dried Mealworms are a fantastic treat for your chooks that contains 50% minimum crude protein. Excellent for growing new feathers.

Drop in Egg ProductionOnce pullets reach point of lay they will soon start to lay eggs. How long this takes depends on the time of year and the individual chicken (longer in winter when there is less daylight). Once they are laying though, they may not always produce eggs like clockwork, the reasons could be:

1) When your chickens moult their egg production will drop and most likely stop.2) If your birds have had a fright this can result in no eggs for a while.3) Moving birds to a new home or hen house will cause a drop-in egg production.4) Egg production is the first thing affected by dehydration. Make sure your birds have plentiful clean water.5) If you are letting your chickens roam about in the garden they may have made a nest under a bush or in a corner somewhere. Follow your chicken discreetly to find the nest, sneaky but necessary!6) Mites in the hen house sucking the blood of your birds and making them anemic will reduce egg production.7) As birds get older they lay less and less eggs.8) Sick birds do not usually lay - hens need to be in good physical health to reproduce.9) Or you could have an Egg Thief? Four legged (rat, stoat, possum, hedgehog) or two legged (pukeko, weka, human)!!!

The Omlet Eglu Rangeis a fantastic range of Chicken Coops if you are looking for easy care poultry accommodation that requires less maintenance than timber housing. These easy to clean plastic coops make light work of coop maintenance. No poultry spray required just a light water blast and walk away! Worth the investment.

And finally, which came first, the Chicken or the Egg? Click here to read all about it.

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Latest Reviews

Again excellent service and quality product. Arrived here (Dannevirke) 3 days after ordering. Chooks love the stuff and have been picking away at it.

16/02/2018 by Wayne

Excellent products

I bought the easy care drinker, step on feeder for smaller spaces and Omlet chicken fencing. All three products are first class and I would recommend them to anyone.

14/02/2018 by carole

Online Order

Hi there, I ordered some items and was very happy with the quick service. order arrived in excellent condition with no fuss. Would certainly use them again. thankyou

08/02/2018 by Daphne

Really quick delivery

I ordered some items on the Weds and received them in Central Otago on Friday. Excellent service, thank you.

05/02/2018 by John

Great price and quick delivery

I ordered some supplies for new baby chicks. The products were as described and delivered quickly even though we are rural and on the North Island. Very satisfied with the price, quality and speed.

04/02/2018 by Susanne

Non Solar Chook Water feeder

Many thanks for the prompt delivery and great product . I will definitely shop there in the future.

31/01/2018 by Warren

Plastic Eggs & Leg Rings

Many Thanks to Appleton's for the prompt supply of the Trio Of plastic eggs and Coloured leg rings which arrived by Courier . Excellent quality at a reasonable price and well packed for courier delivery to Dannevirke. We will certainly shop with Appleton's again. Wayne Jacobsen Dannevirke

31/01/2018 by Wayne

Purchased Hatching eggs

Brought online and delivered to rural address in Southland.Communication was great via email and eggs arrived a day before they said they would be due, which was great. they were very well packed and the instruction I received made for a very successful hatching rate. Very happy with purchase and would happily buy from this company again. Excellent

28/01/2018 by Teresa

Feed

Appletons Westons feed is excellent. My chicks are growing fast on the chick crumble! The service is really good too.

27/01/2018 by Louisa

Love the Eglu Go Up

Have previously had a fencing system in my inner city yard that I had to move around. Now that I have my three chickens in an Eglu Go Up, life for me and the hens is far easier. They seem more content (possible because they feel more secure?) and are much easier to wrangle. Cleaning takes a fraction of the time, and the unit looks tidier. I can regularly give them access to fresh grass just by wheeling the unit a couple of metres along. Very pleased with the whole thing.Great delivery service too, thanks